Happy Beginnings
by rationalbookworm
Summary: The summer before 5th year was horrible and Harry didn't expect the rest of the year to get any better. He changes his mind after sharing a compartment on the train with some new and unexpected friends.


**If anyone recognizes this, this used to be the beginning of one of my old attempts at a multi-chapter HP fic. I've almost completely given up on that, but after re-reading this one I decided to pick out my favorite parts and put them up as one shots. I think part of my problem is that I made these OCs in high school and just can't let them go, but I'm so different from how I was there that I seem to have trouble getting out a full story. I'll probably try again eventually, but for now. Here's Happy Beginnings.**

 **Enjoy.**

The summer before his fifth year had to have been the worst of his life, Harry thought. Even the years of torture he endured by the Dursleys couldn't compare. First, just before break, he'd had to watch Cedric die and Voldemort return, resulting in endless nights of nightmares horrid enough to drive Satan himself insane. Then he was treating like unwanted mold in his Aunt and Uncle's house. (Not that it wasn't expected.) Had to fight off a dementor to save his cousin and was nearly expelled from school. He may have won that case in court, but not even Dumbledore was able to look him in the eye, as if Harry had done something wrong. Worse than that, however, were Ron and Hermione still walking on eggshells around him. It was as if he was tainted by what happened in that graveyard a couple months ago. He couldn't stand the sideways, wary looks and whispers that stopped abruptly the second they realized he was within earshot. He was sick of it; actually physically sick of being around his supposed best friends who had called him family not even a year before. He had never asked for any of this. All he had ever wanted, his entire life was to fit in, to have friends and family who cared about him and wanted him around just for him. He suddenly wasn't sure about anyone he had trusted before.

So to say he was a little relieved when Ron and Hermione had moved away once on the train to join the other Prefects in a special car near the front of the train was a bit of an understatement. He was left with Ginny who quickly left him to find her own friends. He shrugged his bag higher up on his shoulder, unbothered by being alone once again. He was used to it. Still, it was nice when a few seconds after he began trudging down the corridor with his trunk thumping along behind him and Hedwig hooting merrily in her cage to what he hoped to be an empty compartment he heard a voice call after him. An excited voice, like they were actually happy to see him. He half turned to look behind him, a minuscule smile tugging at his lips at the disheveled sight of Neville Longbottom trying to catch up to him while clutching a squirming Trevor in one hand and dragging his trunk behind him.

"Hey Neville," he answered when the boy finally caught him.

"Harry," Neville grinned, "How're you?"

Harry shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. "You want to find a compartment?" He asked instead.

Neville, always afraid to be rejected by his so-called friends, nodded eagerly as he motioned for Harry to lead the way. Harry felt a new kind of kinship with the boy, now knowing how it felt to have friends but be unsure where you stood with them. He decided then and there to spend more time with Neville, if for no other reason than he never treated Harry as anything other than a classmate and roommate. Just another guy.

They were nearly at the very back of the train when Harry finally spotted what was the closest thing to an empty spot he had seen yet. Only one person sat curled in one of the seats closest to the window, dressed in Hulk pajama bottoms and a faded gray Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry t-shirt. A book thicker than his forearm was resting on her knees where they were pulled up, her bare toes curled around the edge of her seat as if to keep her legs from slipping down. Her long brown hair was tied up into a messy bun in a failed attempt to keep it out of her eyes as she read. What was probably the smallest owl Harry had ever seen was busy rearranging the escaped locks into something like a tangled nest on the top of her head, the girl seemingly oblivious to the mess. She may have been alone but two trunks were already stored in the overhead compartments and a large cat carrier sat in the seat next to her, her own empty owl cage stored with the trunks. Still, this was the first spot he'd found for them and he didn't feel like testing his luck further along.

He reached for the door handle to at least ask if the girl minded if they sat there, when someone grabbed his elbow and jerked him back. Harry tensed as his heart rate spiked, adrenaline pulsing through his veins as his fight or flight instinct took over. His head whipped around to Neville's wide-eyed expression and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He wasn't in any danger. At least not right this second.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked after a moment to collect himself.

His eyes darted toward the compartment and back, "Let's find somewhere else to sit."

Harry shook his head, "Everywhere else is probably full by now."

"But...Harry, that's...that's Trinity Maserith."

"I know," Harry answered slowly, unsure what Neville's point was. "She's nice. I think. I haven't really talked to her much but she seems alright."

"But her cousin's Phoenix Van Garrett! A Slytherin! They're always together!"

Harry paused at that, thinking over his few interactions with Trinity. They were in different houses but as the ban to go to different common rooms had been lifted for certain hours of the day a few decades back it wasn't uncommon to see people from different houses visiting friends in each other's common rooms. (Slytherins were the only ones to still distance themselves to some extent and though Gryffindors were generally friendly with other houses it was still rare to see others in their tower. Hufflepuff was the house known to welcome everyone who wanted into their burrow near the kitchen, though Harry hadn't found a reason to visit. He rarely hung out with anyone besides Ron and Hermione so there wasn't really any point.) Now that he thought about it, he could recall Trinity occasionally coming into the tower to trade notes with some of the more studious Gryffindors though never Hermione if he was remembering right. And every time the Ravenclaw was there, her cousin was sure to follow, more for making sure her more soft-spoken cousin wasn't being taking advantage of than anything else.

Since they transferred from Ilvermorny in third year, the cousins had rarely been separated unless taking different classes. He couldn't blame them. It was almost never heard of that Hogwarts got transfer students, let alone ones from America. They'd had a hard time at first fitting in, but Phoenix's aggressive personality was hard to ignore. Though they'd hardly spoken more than handful of times, Harry felt as if he were already considered a friend by Phoenix, if her enthusiastic smiles and greetings were anything to go by. Trinity was harder to get to know. She was always polite and friendly, but seemed to enjoy sitting off by herself or with her cousin more than meeting with new people. He'd been paired with her for a couple projects in various classes and despite being a Ravenclaw he found she wasn't the smartest person he'd ever met, but seemed to love learning enough that it hadn't been hard for him to really begin to get into the projects. More so than when he was paired with Hermione who liked to take control of the project, or Ron who used any excuse to not do work. It helped that she would randomly come out with facts about the most bizarre things. They were always interesting but rarely had anything to do with what they were studying at the time. Overall, he liked the girl even if it took a minute to really remember her when she was brought up in conversation.

"Phoenix isn't that bad, Neville. She's not like Malfoy or his gang. Just because she's a Slytherin doesn't mean she's a bully."

Neville still seemed wary, eyeing the compartment nervously but agreeing to enter all the same. With a nod, Harry turned back to the door, carefully sliding it open and drawing the girl's attention with a smile.

"Hey Trinity," Harry greeted. "Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else if full."

Trinity's smile stayed as she nodded, "Sure. Phee's off wandering, but I doubt she'll mind all that much either."

Harry moved further into the compartment, carefully setting Hedwig's cage onto the seat across from Trinity so his hands were free to shove his trunk up into storage and help Neville with his as he was still struggling to keep hold of Trevor. Once everything was situated, Harry moved the cage to the ground in order to take his seat. Glancing at Neville revealed that the boy was still too intimidated by the Slytherin who would be returning at any time to speak. Trinity had returned to her well-worn novel, oblivious to any discomfort the silence may have caused her new seatmates. His eyes traveled back to the top of her head where the tiny owl was happily nesting, a smug look somehow gracing its featureless face. Harry's lips twitched at the sight, amusement flooding him for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

"I didn't know you had an owl," he stated quietly, partly hoping she wouldn't get mad for disturbing her reading like Hermione normally would.

"Hmm," Trinity blinked up at him for a second before glancing around, "Yes, I do. He normally prefers to hide in my pockets during school. He doesn't really carry my mail since he's so small, but he's a great familiar." She frowned, "Where is he?"

Harry snorted and motioned to her head when she looked at him questioningly. Her hands carefully padded the top of her head, the owl nuzzling into her palm when her fingers managed to find feathers and tangled hair. She winced as she carefully extracted him, her other hand half-heartedly attempting to comb out the mess her pet made, "God dammit, Legolas. Why?"

Harry laughed at her despairing tone, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Trinity stuck her tongue out at him, causing even Neville to start chuckling. Once he had calmed, though he couldn't stop smiling, he asked, "Legolas?"

She nodded holding her hand out where the owl was now perched on her finger, head tilting at Harry inquisitively, "He's an elf owl. I thought it'd be appropriate."

Harry nodded, catching the reference from the popular movie kids at his primary school had talked about for a long time before some other fad blew through. Either way, he was glad to finally understand _someone's_ inside joke. Sometimes it felt like he was missing out on so much when he was around purebloods, or even muggles. It was a bit difficult to feel like he fit in anywhere at times.

"Very appropriate," he agreed, reaching out to stroke the bird's back as it clearly preened under the attention.

"What's a leg-o-lost?" Neville's quiet question drew their eyes back to the wizard.

"Legolas," Trinity corrected gently, "It's an elf character from a muggle novel. One of my favorites."

"Oh," Neville finished quietly, looking down at the toad in his lap.

"Do you like to read?" Trinity asked, obviously seeing how awkward the boy felt.

"Not really."

"So what do you like?"

Neville blinked at her for a moment, shock crossing his features before he could cover it up. Guilt twisted Harry's gut momentarily. Had no one really asked him that before?

"I uh, I like plants," Neville answered slowly, glancing at Harry apprehensively.

"Cool," Trinity nodded, easily flowing into a conversation with the other quiet teen. Harry felt honestly grateful he'd found this compartment to sit in. He had always felt comfortable the few times he'd hung around Trinity. She was quiet, but seemed interested in the people she spoke to, like she cared about what they had to say. He didn't get that often and it was clear Neville got it even less. The poor boy got overlooked so much, it was easy to forget he didn't have many people at home to listen to him either. His Grandmother was nice enough, according to Neville, loving and honest, but not someone he could open up to. Maybe Trinity was someone Neville could learn to spend time with. It was obvious she was quiet and calm enough to not scare him off. It would probably do him some good to have a friend who wouldn't constantly forget about him.

Just as the three teens had really begun to relax in their seats, conversing about different subjects they had learned, both in and out of Hogwarts, the sliding door opened with a bang.

"I have returned from the dark side!" a female voice announced. Harry glanced up to see green eyes sparkling with mischief, "And I brought cookies!"

* * *

Trinity rolled her eyes as her cousin practically skipped inside, handing her a blue and bronze tin that had an eagle printed on top. Phoenix hugged her own green and silver tin to her chest greedily, completely ignoring the boys as she plopped down into the seat next to Trinity, her large Savannah cat, Jinx, stretching out at their feet and eyeing the newcomers speculatively. Trinity took a moment to look into her own tin, humming happily as the smell of fresh baked cookies assaulted her nose. Sure enough she had been gifted with her favorite – classic chocolate chip cookies. The borderline pornographic noises coming from her cousin assured her she'd gotten her favorite as well.

"I had wondered what you were up to," she commented casually while biting into the gooey deliciousness.

"I saw her give it to the Booger before the train left the station and I wanted to make sure he didn't eat any," Phoenix's explanation was only half comprehensible through the cookies currently making her cheeks puff out like a chipmunk.

"You're ridiculous," Trinity told her dryly, munching on her own cookies and sitting back in her seat, half turned away from the window in order to see everyone better. In retaliation Phoenix stuck her tongue out, a wad of indecipherable mush resting atop the muscle. "Very mature."

Harry's dry chuckle reminded them that they weren't as alone as they were used to.

"No cookies for you," Phoenix told the boys sternly, shoving another cookie into her mouth as if to prove her point.

"You'll have to excuse her. We didn't get much sleep last night."

"Hey! The All Night No Sleep Movie Marathon is a tradition!"

"One I still can't believe my parents let us get away with."

"They understand tradition."

"The name is too long."

Phoenix gasped, waving a cookie in Trinity's face, "Bite your tongue!"

"It needs a new name."

"It's a perfect name."

"I refuse to call it that."

Phoenix stared at her cousin for a long moment, not breaking eye contact as she carefully closed the lid of her tin, the snake glinting in the sun shining through the window. She set it aside and reached up to tie her long mane of fiery red hair back into a ponytail, revealing the design on her black AC/DC shirt. Her cotton Deadpool shorts had ridden up slightly, causing her to tug them down gently as she stood from her seat, still keeping her eyes on Trinity. Knowing what was coming, the brunette set her own cookies aside and removed Legolas from her lap, tenderly placing him onto Jinx's back where he hooted happily, hopping along until he reached the cat's head. Trinity gave a curt nod to her cousin and braced herself. A second later, her head had barely managed to not knock into the window as she grunted at the impact of her cousin's body. Neither girl was overweight, but they were hardly anorexic either, making the collision a little rougher than necessary. They mock fought, lightly tapping each other with closed fists and open palms. It wasn't until the tickling started that things became serious, forcing Trinity to shove her legs between them for leverage and kicking the other girl off. Phoenix tumbled back to her seat, breathless with giggles and Trinity shook her head, admittedly just as breathless as she contained her own merriment.

Harry was grinning at them when she turned back to the other occupants of the compartment and Trinity smiled back, snatching up her tin and holding it out after removing the lid, "Cookie?"

"Neville!" Phoenix nearly shouted, "I didn't even see you there! How you doing bud?"

Trinity looked over to see the little shit she called cousin on the other side of the car, squeezed between Neville and the door, one arm thrown around the boy's shoulders as he attempted to lean away from her. Palm met forehead as Trinity mentally asked what was wrong with her family.

"She has no sense of personal space, does she?" Harry asked quietly, leaning forward slightly as if sharing a secret with her.

"Nope," Trinity grinned and was about to tell her cousin off when the door opened again.

"Well aren't we popular this year," Phoenix called as Hermione and Ron tried to step in, unable to move as Phoenix stood and crossed in front of them to reclaim her seat. "Normally, we get the place to ourselves."

"Did you want us to go?" Harry inquired, though he was still grinning as if he already knew the answer.

Phoenix blew an obnoxiously loud raspberry, "Don't be stupid, Harry. This is loads more fun. So," she turned back to the newcomers who were hovering in the doorway. "Which of you would like to sit beside me?" she asked with a creepy smile, gently patting the empty seat beside her. Ron's eyes widened in shock and Hermione's glinted with indignation, making Phoenix laugh loudly.

"Oh calm down. I was just joking," Phoenix continued to grin unrepentantly. "Harry, switch seats with me so Trin and I can play Bullshit."

Harry nodded and easily slipped into Phoenix's newly vacated seat while the redhead unfolded the small table from under the window.

Trinity sighed, "I suppose I don't have a say in this."

"You suppose right."

"Of course," she shook her head but complied with the turn of events. She switched out her forgotten book with a deck of cards in her bag. She handed them to her cousin and got comfortable on her seat, crossing her legs to sit Indian style. Legolas fluttered up to rest in the hammock the loose fabric between her legs created. Jinx army crawled along the floor to curl up under their table, in the way of feet if both girls hadn't already brought theirs up onto their seats. As Phoenix started shuffling the cards as expertly as any dealer in a Vegas casino, Trinity looked at the other occupants of their compartment. Ron had taken the seat on the other side of Harry, spreading out and slouching all at the same time in a way that forced Harry to move closer to Trinity, his thigh pressing against her knee. Hermione sat primly between Phoenix and Neville, not paying attention to either as she berated Ron for his behavior around the other Prefects and his whining about their duties as he sulked in his seat. Harry sighed as he turned to her, an exasperated expression proving this wasn't a new argument between his friends.

She smiled, "Wanna play?"

He glanced over at Phoenix who was grinning as she did a complicated trick with her cards, flipping them through the air and catching them effortlessly. "I don't really know how to play," he answered.

"That's okay. It's easy to learn."

"Can I play?" Neville asked timidly from around Hermione, causing the other two to stop bickering and pay attention to the group steadily gathering around the miniscule table.

"Of course," Phoenix smiled enthusiastically. Seeing another chance to tease the quiet boy, she held her arms out as if to embrace him, "Come to Mama, dove, and let her teach you the ways of Bullshit."

Trinity snorted at her overly dramatic voice, "Don't ever call yourself Mama again. It's creepy."

Harry shuffled a little closer so he could see what was happening while Ron and Hermione hovered close by, unsure if they were welcome to play as well. In the end, Trinity had slid onto the ground and allowed Harry to scoot over into her spot so Hermione could join him on the bench. Neville sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, biting his lip nervously as Phoenix passed out the cards and Trinity folded the table back down now that two of the players were on the ground. She rested back against the wall under the window and got comfortable as the game commenced.


End file.
